While you were sleeping: TGIF 5 May 2017

John Stupart

John Stupart

John Stupart is the creator of Daily Maverick's First Thing. When not getting up at the crack of dawn, he is working on many of DM's other newsletter offerings. John completed his masters in War Studies at Kings College and has blathered endlessly on several mediums on all things pertaining to African defence policy, strategic, operational and tactical challenges. When he isn't utterly sleep-deprived, that is.

President Jacob Zuma suffered yet another blow on Thursday when he was ordered by the North Gauteng High Court to provide reasons for his firing of Pravin Gordhan and Mcebisi Jonas from the Cabinet – and pay the costs of the application. You would think that these numerous losses in the courts, as well as being booed, mass protests and mounting calls to step down, would eventually break the President’s obstinacy. But Zuma remains impervious. “I am not leaving the office right now,” he casually told journalists at the World Economic Forum in Durban this week. Zuma’s resilience is related to how the ANC failed to hold him accountable and his ability to manipulate and manoeuvre behind the scenes.

The House voted to repeal Obamacare by a single extra vote. President Donald Trump lauded the victory, but now faces an uphill battle overcoming tougher political foes in the Senate. The House was meant to be the easy part. Now, four months since taking office, it appears as though Obamacare's legislative walls have begun to crack.

Despite two airstrikes and Nigerian military claims of injuring Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, the leader has published a new video insisting on fine health. Appearing in a seated position flanked by two armed men, Shekau professed ignorance at the knowledge of an attack or the deaths of any of his militants.

"Thor", a drilling rig place on top of a volcano, has drilled 4,7km down into a volcano in order to harness thermal energy in Iceland. If successful, the drilling will yield 10 times more electricity than currently generated through coal and oil. If unsuccessful, the Icelandic drilling could unearth eldritch gods from a nether world, buried deep inside Iceland's lava'd depths.

Freshly-invigorated after chipping away at Obamacare, President Donald Trump met with Austrlian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, calling their once-damaged relationship "all worked out". Labelling the initial spat fake news at the time, Trump admitted at a dinner on Thursday night that it "got a little bit testy". America, it seems, will accept the contested Obama-era refugee transfer from Australia to America.

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IN NUMBERS

224

The number of words in a palindrome poem about alcoholism by Demetri Martin.

FACTS OF THE DAY

Today in 1981 IRA stalwart Bobby Sands died after 66 days hunger-striking.

Glasnost's reforms unveiled so many cover ups in the Soviet Union that all history exams were cancelled in 1988.

John Stupart is the creator of Daily Maverick's First Thing. When not getting up at the crack of dawn, he is working on many of DM's other newsletter offerings. John completed his masters in War Studies at Kings College and has blathered endlessly on several mediums on all things pertaining to African defence policy, strategic, operational and tactical challenges. When he isn't utterly sleep-deprived, that is.

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